Economy and administration during reign of Isa bin Ali .281869.E2.80.931923.29 History of Bahrain (1783–1971)

1 economy , administration during reign of isa bin ali (1869–1923)

1.1 ruler s authority
1.2 palm cultivation , estate administration
1.3 fishing
1.4 pearl diving
1.5 religious courts
1.6 british protectorate

economy , administration during reign of isa bin ali (1869–1923)

the management of economic resources government , tribal sovereignty in hand of tribal councils (arabic: المجالس‎), not regulated standardized law or procedures. social , personal affairs managed religious courts (arabic: القضاء الشرعي‎). each council power derived economic resources controlled. during period, economy of bahrain depended on pearl diving, fishing , palm cultivation. these settings existed long before reign of isa bin ali, represented during it.

ruler s authority

a portrait of isa ibn ali al khalifa, date unknown.

unlike regular tribal councils, ruler had supreme council known diwan , used physical coercion collect tax or whatever wanted people. in words of khuri (1980) ruler government without offices, administration without bureaucracy [and] state without public delegation or consent, standardized law or equity. autonomy of ruler not different in terms of quality of other sheikhs (members of al khalifa family) controlled estate, except had higher quantity of resources , assets. ruler controlled ports , markets, , many estates including manama , muharraq, 2 largest cities of country. administration apparatus @ manama , muharraq headed high ranking fidawi known emir , composed of thirty other fidawis. in riffa, sunni arab tribes lived, emir al khalifa member.

there no distinction between ruler s private income , public revenue, instead public revenues including taxes , rentals considered private earnings of ruler. of revenue spent on ruler s retinue , little or none @ on infrastructure such schools , roads, , when occurred, thought of personal act of charity. distant relatives of ruler assigned manage estates , brothers , sons given own estates in order avoid internal conflicts. government-related jobs exclusive sunnis whereas market-related confined shia , foreigners. ruler , sheikhs lived in muharraq city , none lived in shia villages. fidawis , council members followed them wherever lived.

fidawis military arm of authority; main job execute sheikhs orders via physical coercion. composed of baluchis, african slaves , sunni arabs s tribal origin not traced. had sticks , authorized interrogate, arrest , punish deemed wrongdoers. fidawis arbitrary way of handling law , order complained bahrainis. fidawis responsible claiming forced labor, known sukhra (arabic: السخرة‎) in round random group of adult males public places such market , assign them using force specific task. men not freed until complete task, did not require skillful labor , finished in no more 2 days (e.g. construction).

palm cultivation , estate administration

palm cultivation used 1 of 2 backbones of bahraini economy.

most cultivation in bahrain confined palm trees; vegetables , fodder grown in small amounts. palms located in northern shores compromised cultivable land in island. unlike pastoral nomads of central arabia lived off camel, bahrainis lived off palms; dates basic in diet, branches used construction of houses , fish traps, flowers , buds medicine , leaves making baskets. local culture affected palms; many stories, songs, myths , classification of persons revolved around them. cultivation of palms required full-day work during sessions of year. cultivators shia engaged members of families in job: children , adults, male , female. source of subsistence.

palm cultivation tightly controlled ruling family, served landlords; on 1 hand, lands directly administered farmed out fiefs , on other collected taxes on private lands, , confiscated property of failed pay. shia had pay taxes, not part of army, despite never being invited join it. land divided number of estates administered sheikhs, brothers , sons of ruler. size of each estate not fixed; increased or decreased based on power , influence of owner; closer relation ruler s line of descent, more power , larger estates. instance, when ruler died, management of estates shift brothers , sons brothers , sons of new ruler, , new ruler s cousins not inherit fathers (brothers of previous ruler). mothers played important factor, if belonged ruling family.

sheikhs controlled estate enjoyed high level of autonomy within it, high ruler himself; imposed taxes, resolved disputes , protected subjects against outsiders, including members of al khalifa family. did not interact farmers directly, rather had wazir rent palm gardens via middlemen, individual farmers. wazir, means minister in arabic, shia trusted sheikh. wazirs act special advisers of sheikh.

as wazirs, sheikhs administration included kikhda , fidawis. kikhda shia assigned collect taxes. due nature of job, wazirs , kikhda, lived in shia villages, had leading position in society, in villages heavily taxed such bani jamra , diraz, hated escaped manama following reforms of 1920s. in total, there 2 5 individuals between sheikh , farmer. contracts oral before reforms of 1920s, after written down. rents dependent on yield, increasing , decreasing it, meant farmers left no more essentials of survival.

fishing

bahrain waters rich in fish of various types. fish had no capital value (not imported or exported), fishing traps, main method of fishing in island not controlled al khalifa. bahrainis had 1 thing or fishing , sea, knew as northern arabs knew camel , desert. specialized fishermen known rassamin built fishing traps , rented them u.s. $150 $5000 year expensive in sitra island. ruling family owned small percentage of fishing traps, while shia owned of them.

pearl diving

boats used pearl diving

pearl diving in region known thousands of years, achieved economic consequences in eighteenth twentieth centuries. in 1876, pearl diving in bahrain produced £180,000 annually , 1900 rose £1,000,000, accounting on half value of exports. however, in 1925 produced £14,500. pearls shipped mumbai , there rest of world. indian merchants, known banyan became active in exporting pearls bahrain mumbai. @ end of nineteenth century, bahraini , european merchants took role of banyans, instead exported pearls directly europe.

in nineteenth , twentieth century, pearl diving became important sustenance of thousands of bahrainis, half of adult males working in pearl diving. stretching may october, official pearl diving season known al-ghaws (arabic: الغوص‎). gradually, few rich merchants known kings of pearl able control pearl industry, because boats supplies expensive , divers required high amount of money recruit.

boat crew divided 6 categories: pilot (nukhada; arabic: النوخدة‎), assistant, divers, pullers, apprentices , servants. while in sea, pilot of tribal origin , owned boat had authority try , punish wrongdoers , resolve disputes. unless beyond knowledge, crimes on boat dealt on basis of eye eye , tooth tooth , otherwise dealt after returning land. rest of crew southern persians, baluchis or slaves , few of them native shia. divers , pullers worked team; divers stayed @ bottom of sea collecting pearl oysters until short of breath, after pull rope attached them , more numbered pullers pull them boat. divers lasted longer underwater , make 100 dives day. had more prestige pullers, exposed hazards such eardrum rupture , blindness.

although pearl diving yielded lot of money, divers , pullers share small, while pilots , merchants got of it. disputes on shares , loans taken islamic courts, whenever pearls, taken instead special court known salifa biased merchants , pilots judge of tribal origin. in same system in palm cultivation, interests on loans increased pearl catch, divers , pullers in loan pilot in turn in loan merchant. skillful divers given bigger loans, meant more in debt , had continue working same pilot not pay loan , high interests (up 50 percent) on own, loans hereditary fathers sons. take loan pilot pay first, still stuck in system. few divers compensated reward loyalty , hard work.

pearl diving controlled sunni arab tribesmen, enjoyed high autonomy within estates; resolved disputes , held own courts, stopped short of collecting taxes. each tribe had control on specific pearl banks. power of each tribe derived overall power in gulf , arabia. powerful tribe al dawasir lived in budaiya , zallaq; wealthy, numerous , mobilize many allies in arabia. in order attract many pearl tribes possible, al khalifa did not interfere pearl diving, nor did impose taxes on boats or catches. increased volume of exports , increased taxes on them. increased local trade , rents. interfering in tribes affairs had negative consciences, threatened emigrate, meant decline in trade , implicit threat of war. case of al bin ali in 1895 , al dawasir in 1923 both of emigrated island.

khuri (1980) argues al khalifa tight control on palm cultivation , relaxed measures regard pearl diving not mean purpose favor sunnis , oppress shia, instead says purpose increase revenues as possible both groups; sunni tribesmen resisted interference in affairs , had better production in relaxed atmosphere.

religious courts

religious courts @ time followed sharia (islamic law) derived qur , hadith. there 4 different juristic groups in bahrain @ time: urban hawala (sunni) followed shafi law, urban najdi (sunni) community followed hanbali law, tribal arab sunni community followed maliki law , shia community followed ja fari jurisprudence. during entire reign of isa bin ali, jassim al-mihza sole jurist served sunni community. appointed ruler, al-mihza ruled on personal , family matters such divorce , inheritance, loans associated pearl diving excluded sharia speaks against loan interests. instead, aforementioned loans taken tribal salifa court.

the shia courts on other hand numerous , independent of ruler. not appointed nor inheritors, attained position charisma , intrinsic properties. used ijtihad (interpretation) instead of qiyas (analogy). shia jurists had more social power sunni counterparts, because independent of government , religion had more social influence on shia believed in taqlid, stands religious imitation. in addition, shia jurists controlled redistribution of income of shia endowment properties, included land, fish traps, houses, shrines , more. shia endowment properties more sunni, , run in similar way tribal councils, except principles of islam followed. shia jurists represented alternative government; looked upon followers legitimate authority, whereas ruler treated them religious leaders.

british protectorate

the british signed 2 further treaties al khalifa in 1880 , 1892, putting defense , foreign relations of bahrain in control of britain , turning bahrain british colonial protectorate. following incident in 1904, in relative of ruler attacked persians , germans, ruler agreed place foreigner affairs in british hands. term foreigner vague, because bahrain had no naturalization policy, population census or emigration office. , rapidly growing number of foreigners result of pearl boom created dual authority system, 1 led british agent , other al khalifa ruler (isa bin ali).

during first world war, bahrain threatened again wahhabis, re-occupied eastern part of arabia, ottomans , persian, both of did not drop claims on island. britain responded tightening hold on bahrain. bahrainis not sympathetic allies, british attributed lack of attention toward shia oppression , enforcement of reforms. when war ended, britain changed policy in bahrain being cautious , giving advises ruler, directly implementing reforms.